For the Millennial generation, these may truly be the best and worst of times. Millennials are well educated, highly connected, and the most diverse generation in American history. They have been characterized by resilience, creativity and cooperation. Millennials have taken to entrepreneurship, service, and the sciences in an attempt to improve the lives of those around them, yet, they are confronting almost unprecedented headwinds with a stagnant labor market, stalled wages, and rising educational debts.

Join National Journal and The Atlantic as we conclude our unprecedented series, "A New America: How Millennials Are Sparking Change," on the economic opportunities and challenges facing this vast generation. This event will feature insights from Millennials, government officials, and more. We'll explore how Millennials are responding to their generational challenges, how they are best positioning themselves for success, and why they are more engaged in social, than political activism. Join us as we confront some of the biggest questions facing this generation, and offer assessments on the challenges they face.

James Brown

James Brown is the Executive Director of the STEM Education Coalition, an alliance of more
than 500 business, professional, and education organizations, that works to raise awareness in
Congress, the Administration, and other organizations about the critical role that STEM
education plays in enabling the U.S. to remain the economic and technological leader of the
global marketplace of the 21st century. Prior to joining the Coalition, he was Assistant Director
for Advocacy at the American Chemical Society. A nuclear engineer by training, he previously
worked as a Legislative Aide for Rep. Doc Hastings of Washington, was Director of Policy and
Development at the Consumer Energy Council of America, and began his career as an engineer
with Newport News Shipbuilding, working on aircraft carrier construction. He received a B.S.
from the University of New Mexico and an M.S. from Penn State, both in nuclear engineering.
He also holds an MBA from George Washington University.

Amanda Ebokosia

Amanda A. Ebokosia, born April 17, 1986, is Nigerian American. She is founder and CEO of The Gem Project, Inc., published author, and free-lance writer.
The Gem Project is a not-for-profit organization that assists youth and young adults in carrying out the educational enrichment programs that they develop, which focus on the issues of their community and youth affairs. Through this process, youth and young adults simultaneously hone their skills of leadership and community organizing.

U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard was born in Leloaloa, American Samoa in 1981, the fourth of five children. At the age of two, Tulsi and her family settled in Hawai'i where as a teenager, she co-founded the Healthy Hawai'i Coalition, a non-profit teaching children to take care of themselves and the environment. An advocate for environmental policy, Tulsi ran for the Hawai'i State Legislature in 2002 and became the youngest person ever elected. A year later, Tulsi joined the Hawai'i National Guard to serve Hawaii’s citizens and our country.

In 2004, Tulsi voluntarily deployed to Iraq with her fellow Soldiers of the 29th Brigade eventually serving two tours of combat duty in the Middle East. Tulsi was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal during Operation Iraqi Freedom, was the first female Distinguished Honor Graduate at Fort McClellan's Officer Candidate School, and was the first woman to ever receive an award of appreciation from the Kuwaiti military on her second overseas tour. Tulsi continues to serve as a Captain in the Hawai'i National Guard's 29th Brigade Combat Team. In between her two tours, Tulsi worked in the U.S. Senate as a legislative aide to Senator Daniel Akaka, where she advised the senator on energy independence, homeland security, the environment, and veterans’ affairs.

In 2010, Tulsi ran for the Honolulu City Council and served as Chair of the Safety, Economic Development, and Government Affairs committee and Vice Chair of the Budget committee. Representing Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, Tulsi is one of the first two female combat veterans, first Hindu and first female of Samoan ancestry to ever serve as a member of the U.S. Congress.

Andrew Hanson

Andrew R. Hanson is a Research Analyst at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. He works closely with the Center’s director and senior economists in the research, design, and production of the Center’s reports and projects. He also assists the research and communications directors with overall research and communications efforts, including answering to research requests, developing and updating content for the Center’s website and social media.

Neil Howe

Neil Howe is a renowned authority on generations and social change in America. An acclaimed author and speaker, he is the nation’s leading thinker on today’s generations—who they are, what motivates them, and how they will shape America’s future.
Howe is founder and president of the consulting firm LifeCourse Associates, where he develops and implements cutting-edge research, analysis, and consulting services to help clients understand how generations impact marketing, workforce issues, and strategic planning. LifeCourse has served hundreds of corporate, nonprofit, and government clients.

Stefanie Brown James

A passionate leader, Stefanie Brown James is a master of making the political, personal. She has dedicated her life to empowering people to organize and advocate for justice and equality in their communities. Stefanie is the CEO and Founding Partner of Vestige Strategies, LLC, a Washington, DC-based public affairs firm that specializes in grassroots community and civic engagement strategies. Through her role at Vestige, Stefanie leads of team of four to connect clients like the Black Civic Engagement Initiative, MomsRising.org, the Climate Action Campaign and others around the world with their targeted constituencies – especially people of color, women and youth.

Mekia Matthews

Mekia Matthews is a Philadelphia native whose roots are firmly planted in her civil rights heritage. A product of the Philadelphia Public School System, Mekia went on to attend Chestnut Hill College and become a recipient of the prestigious Star Fellowship, gaining the honor of working in the office Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke.
Mekia also serves as the Founder and President of Dare To DREAM BIG, a youth education and leadership based organization in Northwest Philadelphia, inspiring hope and preparing students for success in school and beyond. In addition to developing strategies to improve the lives of Philadelphia youth she collaborates with parents, school personnel and other community organizations to build bridges that uplift and foster positive change.
Dare To DREAM BIG serves as a reflection of her personal philosophy, dream big, work hard, grow and give!

Martha Ross

Martha Ross is a fellow at the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program. Her work focuses on the labor market and developing strategies to increase the skills, employment, and earnings of low-income people.

U.S Representative Aaron Schock

Congressman Aaron Schock (R-IL) represents the 18th District of Illinois. Schock currently serves on the House Ways and Means committee and three subcommittees: Trade, Select Revenue Measures and Social Security. Schock also serves on the committee on House Administration and as the Chairman of the Franking Commission. In addition he serves as a Deputy Republican Whip and as a member of the Conference Advisory Committee.
Aaron Schock graduated from Richwoods High School and Rolling Acres Middle School in Peoria. He then graduated from Bradley University in Peoria with a B.S. in Finance (a four year degree) in only two years.

Nick Troiano

Nick Troiano is a civic entrepreneur from Milford, PA who has spent the last decade advancing non-partisan reforms to fix our broken political system and our unsustainable federal budget. He is running as an independent candidate, citizen-funded candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional district.
A lifelong Republican, Nick began considering running for Congress as an independent candidate following the October 2013 government shutdown, which he believed demonstrated the ultimate dysfunction of a political system gridlocked by partisanship and special interest corruption.

Susannah Wellford

Over the past ten years, Susannah Wellford has founded two organizations designed to raise the political voice of young women in America.
In spring 2007, Ms. Wellford founded Running Start to inspire young women and girls to political leadership. Running Start furthers the work begun by the Women Under Forty Political Action Committee (WUFPAC), which Susannah cofounded in 1999 and led for the first five years. WUFPAC is a national women’s group dedicated to electing young women to political office. A nonpartisan organization, WUFPAC is the only political action committee in the United States devoted to helping young women of all parties run for elected office.

Kezia Williams

Kezia M. Williams is a community leader, young philanthropist, and social entrepreneur, who has experience working in the fields of nonprofit management and organizational development. She has used her skills to benefit local and national nonprofit organizations to include companies in major cities such as: the District of Columbia, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta.
Currently, Ms. Williams serves as Chair of Capital Cause, which is a DC-based nonprofit dedicated to getting young professionals involved in giving back to their communities. Her work with this organization has included growing the organization from five vested members to over 5,000 young professionals influenced by the Capital Cause message of employing young philanthropy to affect real change.